The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol PRECAUTIONS

Reading essay The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol rekindles the candle of the horrors of illiteracy within us, a candle that has been extinguished by our hectic lives. As he quotes James Madison’s statement, “A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives”, these words make us think about ourselves and the society around us.

"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society" from ..

"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society" by Jonathan Kozol

The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol points out the hardships that people go through on a daily basis because they are functionally illiterate. He describes the fact that many of these people vote blindly or do not vote at all, and if they could have voted based on what they read that we may not have had some of our past presidents in this country. He gives mind blowing statistics, including the 60 million people that are functionally illiterate in 1980, and first-hand quotes from some of those 60 million; but leaves too much up to the audience making his argument weak.